I was debating on putting this to paper but I think it might help me process this whole surreal unforgettable event.
My bestie and I planned a trip to celebrate our birthdays. Special birthdays...special friends. You see, our moms were friends when they were pregnant so we had 40 years worth of our friendship to celebrate! We planned our trip...to the beautiful Dominican Republic. Flight booked, all-inclusive resort. All we needed to do was pack and hop on the plane and that's exactly what we did. ☀️
Beautiful weather at a beautiful resort. We relaxed on the beach, did a little paddle boarding and laughed A LOT.
The water was amazing. Crystal blue and green and almost completely clear in some spots.
On Saturday, we were just finishing a dip in the ocean with plans to go hang out at the pool when I stepped down and felt the instant mind-blowing pain. I pulled my foot out of the water and saw lots of blood and a white bony thing sticking out. I instinctively pulled this foreign object out of my foot and screamed in pain. At the time I had no idea, but I had stepped on a stingray and the "bony thing" was a 2 inch poisonous barb that had inserted itself into my foot. Pain like nothing I've ever felt before. Instant. Harsh. I tried to constrain myself but I just couldn't. My bestie, KK, who was only an arm reach away immediately grabbed me and drug me to shore. Someone had gone to get help and within minutes a lifeguard swooped me up and took me to the pool area. He applied pressure to stop the bleeding but quickly realized this was more than just a cut. He quickly took me to the resort "infirmary" where they assumed I'd been stung by something, bandaged me up and had the lifeguard carry me to our room. There I lay. Writhing in pain. KK went to get ice. Then she went to get help. This was NOT getting better. My leg was starting to swell and the pain wasn't letting up. Somehow she found a wheelchair and took me back to the infirmary. There, I received IV meds for pain. It didn't help. They quickly gave me another dose. Nothing. My leg was swollen to my knee and it was getting red and hot. I was screaming. Blood-curdling screaming. I couldn't control it. I couldn't stop it. It was ALL I could do. It was time to hit the road. I was loaded into an "ambulance" which resembled a make-shift mini van with the seats pulled out and a gurney tied to the floor. I didn't care. "Get me some help and fast" was all I was thinking. It took about 30 min to get to the hospital in La Romana. I yelled the whole way.
It was a terribly long ride. One KK and I both thought would never end. Once we arrived, the back hatch to the ambulance was opened by a kid. I don't remember much but I remember that and thinking "Oh my! What am I doing here?!?!"
Once inside, NO ONE spoke English. No one. They called a Doctora that could communicate somewhat with KK. They administered 3 doses of morphine and then I heard the words "We are going to need to sedate her." What?? What are you going to do? At the moment, I didn't care. I just needed some relief. It had been 3 hours since I stepped down on this thing, and I needed something to make the pain stop. As they were putting the oxygen mask on me, I told KK to tell my family that I loved them. I have NEVER been so scared in my life. I wasn't sure if I'd wake up and if I did I wasn't sure I would have all of my limbs intact. I prayed and trusted that God was going to take care of me and take care of KK. That was all I knew to do.
For 2 hours, KK said I moaned and groaned while under sedatation. They cleaned my puncture wound and inspected the area, then decided I needed to stay the night in ICU. At that point they moved me to a room and locked the door behind me...without KK. She was having NONE of that. She found a nurse who spoke some English and insisted that she be with me in ICU. (Thankfully she is pretty bossy). Once I woke up they took my swimsuit off and offered me a "shower" which consisted of a cold bucket of water poured over my head while I stood on a tile. Miserable, still groggy from the meds and a bloody yucky painful foot. I changed into a gown and settled into my bed for the night. KK right next to me, holding my hand the whole time.
The night was long. There were no alcohol swabs being used when they administered meds into my IV. There were no gloves on the nurses hands. There was a man who had just had brain surgery of some kind in the bed right next to mine -only separated by a curtain. The toilet in the bathroom inside icu didn't flush so any toilet paper had to be thrown in the trash can next to the small sink.
This was the view right outside the door of the hospital. It was unlike anything we'd ever experienced before.
The next morning we were ready to get out of there and get home as fast as we could. Unfortunately that took some time. My foot was wrecked. (Beware the following pictures):
I was drowsy from the drugs and terrified of infection.
We finally were discharged. We made it back to the resort that afternoon and made it to our flight the following morning. ✈️
It was not the relaxing birthday celebration we had dreamed of but I am so thankful for my bestie and all that she endured. I can say she has definately improved her Spanish during the past week! Haha!
I saw my Internist today. 4 days post injury. He was amazed at my story. I got a tetanus shot, rosefen shot and two oral antibiotics to try to prevent infection and reduce the toxins still in my foot.
I am on the mend. As bad as it was I am so thankful that things weren't worse. I have never been so happy to be back in the States and home with my family. Much love to my lifelong friend who fought for me and with me through the whole traumatic experience.
My boys. My heart. ❤️
